Combination implement for dental use

ABSTRACT

There is disclosed a dental instrument combining a dental mirror and a dental extractor for sucking out saliva accumulating in the mouth of a patient. The mirror has a stem extending from its periphery and the extractor comprises a shallow bowl having in its wall one or more suction holes. A handle is secured to the bowl. This handle has a lengthwise bore communicating with the interior of the bowl and a lengthwise groove in its outer surface. The stem on the mirror is fitted into the groove and also press-fitted into the bowl at the rim thereof thereby closing the top opening of the bowl. By slipping a suction hose upon the handle the stem is locked in the groove and saliva can be sucked out via the bore through the handle and the hose in the wall of the bowl.

United States Patent Hansson Dec. 30, 1975 COMBINATION IMPLEMENT FORDENTAL Primary ExaminerRobert Peshock USE Attorney, Agent, or FirmHane,Baxley & Spiecens [76] Inventor: Tomas Wilhelm Hansson, Ganla Ornasgatan14, Amal, Sweden [57] ABSTRACT [22] Filed: Nov. 14, 1973 There isdisclosed a dental instrument combining a Appl. No.: 415,620

dental mirror and a dental extractor for sucking out saliva accumulatingin the mouth ofa patient. The mirror has a stem extending from itsperiphery and the extractor comprises a shallow bowl having in its wallone or more suction holes. A handle is secured to the bowl. This handlehas a lengthwise bore communicating with the interior of the bowl and alengthwise groove in its outer surface. The stem on the mirror is fittedinto the groove and also press-fitted into the bowl at the rim thereofthereby closing the top opening of the bowl. By slipping a suction hoseupon the handle the stem is locked in the groove and saliva can besucked out via the bore through the handle and the hose in the wall ofthe bowl.

4 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures US. Patent Dec. 30, 1975 3,928,916

COMBINATION IMPLEMENT FOR DENTAL USE The present invention relates to acombination implement or instrument for dental use. The implements whichthe. combination implement comprises are a saliva extractorand a mirror.

A dentist who has modern working methods most often works sitting down,with the patient lying down in the dental chair. However, a prerequisitefor this procedure is that a strong saliva extractor is available, whichcan remove saliva and waste, which otherwise can be aspirated by thepatient. The conventional type of extractor, which is suspended in thelower jaw of the patient is not effective when the patient is lyingdown. It is therefore often necessary'to have a nurse sitting by, usinga strong power-operated saliva extractor, while the dentist is drillingwith a water-ejecting high-speed drill. The situation becomes still morecomplicated when a dentist is compelled to work alone, without theassistance of a nurse. The dentist must then work in such a way that hefirst drills for a while, and during this period of time the patientsmouth may be filled up with water. The dentist has to put down hismirror, which is an implement that is needed for practically all stagesof the treatment. After having put down the mirror he must use thesaliva extractor. When this has been done, he can again pick up hismirror and start to drill anew. It will thus be noted that, using aconventional implement, the working cycle will involve moreinconvenience for the dentist when he tries to treat without theassistance of a nurse.

If the dentist has the advantage of having a nurse at his disposal, thenurse will have to sit on the other side of the dental chair and handlethe extractor at the same time as the dentist is drilling.Unfortunately, it is not possible for the nurse to see as far into themouth as the dentist, and she will have to go over to his side in orderto be able to carry out the extraction of saliva and the like, whichdisturbs the dentist in his work.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a combinationimplement, in which the mirror and the saliva extractor is one singleimplement. With such an implement it will be possible for the dentist towork without interruptions and without having to put down the mirror andwithout needing a nurse to handle the saliva extraction, as he canarrange for the saliva extraction with the aid of his mirror.

According to the invention, the saliva extractor is shaped similar to aspoon. The opening of the bowl of the spoon is covered with the aid of aconventional dentists mirror, which is provided with a short handle, andthe actual mirror is round. The saliva extractor has a groove forlocating the dentists mirror. Between the bottom of the spoon and therear side of the mirror this is a cavity. In the bottom of the bowl ofthe spoon there are a number of holes, through which saliva is suckedinto the cavity, from where it thereafter passes through the outletconnection of the saliva extractor.

The upper edge of the concave part of the bowl of the spoon is shaped toreceive and retain the round dentists mirror, which can be secured in aknown way. When the mirror is fastened to the bowl of the spoon, theopening of the bowl of the spoon can be entirely closed. However, it isan advantage, according to the invention, if somewhere, preferably atthe point of the spoon, an opening is formed between the periphery ofthe mirror and the upper edge of the bowl of the spoon, and that thisopening is then so large that residue of tooth filling and drilled outmaterial can pass through the opening. The opening should appropriatelybe arranged at the point of the spoon.

The front part of the saliva extractor, i.e., the spoon, mayappropriately be made of plastic, and as a disposable item, but it isobvious that it can also be made of metal. The actual dentists mirror,on the other hand, is a standard product, which normally is not adisposable item. It usually consists of a metal mirror and can be usedtime and again after-sterilizing.

One of the greatest advantages of the combination implement according tothe present invention is that externally it has only smooth surfaces,which cannot injure a patients sensitive mucous tissues in the mouth.

The present invention will be described in more detail in conjunctionwith the attached drawing, in which FIG. 1 shows a conventional dentistsmirror intended to be inserted in a handle,

FIG. 2 shows the lower part of a saliva extractor in cross-section witha mirror, and

FIG. 3 shows a combination instrument according to the present inventionready for use.

In the figures, 1 designates a round standard dentists mirror arrangedin a metal holder, provided with a short stem 2.

In FIG. 2, a spoon-like part 3 is shown, which constitutes the suctionnozzle of the saliva extractor. The spoon has a bowl 4 and a lengthwisehandle 5. The handle 5 is made with a groove 6 to receive the mirrorstem 2. In the bowl 4 of the spoon a number of through holes 7 forsucking saliva into the bowl have been arranged, and extending from thebowl itself there is an outlet bore 8. A suction pipe I0 can be slidupon the handle of the spoon and into connection with bore 8.

The combination implement described above functions in the followingway.

The mirror 1 is placed in the opening of the bowl of the spoon so thatthe mirror and the edge of the bowl of the spoon will be more or less inthe same plane, and the stem 2 is placed in the groove 6. At the edge ofthe bowl of the spoon there can then be a groove 12, recess or the like,in which the mirror 1 can be placed with a pressure fit or in asnapped-in condition. It is assumed that the bowl of the spoon has anopening corresponding to the form of the mirror. There is providedbetween the periphery of the mirror and the edge of the bowl of thespoon an elongate opening 9 substantially in the plane of the mirror.This opening is sufficiently large to receive residue accumulating inthe mouth of the patient. When the mirror 1 has been set in place in thespoon 3, the suction pipe 10 is slipped on, and it will then be obviousthat the suction pipe will also secure the stem 2 of the mirror in thespoon 3. The combination implement is now ready for use, and the dentistthus only needs to hold the suction pipe 10 and will then obtain bothsaliva extraction and at the same time an aid for viewing the mouthcavity when the patient is to be treated. The dentist sucks up salivathrough the holes 7 and can extract residue, if any, through the opening9. When the treatment of the patient has been finished, the dentistsimply removes the spoon and mirror, and the spoon can then bediscarded, while the mirror can be sterilized in an autoclave, to beready for re-use.

I claim:

I. A dental instrument comprising in combination:

a dental mirror means having; a stem extending from the periphery of themirror;

a dental extractor meansfor sucking out saliva accumulating in the mouthof a patient;

said extractor means comprising a shallow bowl having in'its wall atleast one suction hole for ingress of saliva accumulating in the mouthof a patient and including a handle extending from the bowl, said handlehaving therethrough a lengthwise bore communicating with the spacewithin the bowl and a lengthwise groove in the outside surface of thehandle;

the peripheral outlines of the mirror and the rim of the bowl being socorrelated that the mirror is fittable with a pressure fit into the bowlalong the rim thereof for releasably attaching the mirror to the bowlthereby covering the open side of the bowl and the groove in the bowlhandle being so correlated that the stem is fittable into said groove inthe handle simultaneously with pressure fitting of the mirror into thebowl for locking the stem in 4 the groove by sliding a suction hose uponsaid handle.

2. The dental instrument according to claim 1 wherein a rim portion ofthe extractor bowl defines a peripherally elongate gap between said rimportion and the juxtaposed peripheral portion of the mirror, saidopening providing for ingress of solid particles into the bowl space forsucking out said particles together with saliva.

3. The dental instrument according to claim 1 wherein the mirror and thebowl rim each have a circular periphery, the diameter of the mirrorbeing in excess of the minimum diameter at the rim of the bowl.

4. The dental instrument according to claim 3 wherein the wall of thebowl includes a circumferential groove for retaining therein the rim ofthe mirror when press-fitted upon the bowl.

1. A dental instrument comprising in combination: a dental mirror meanshaving a stem extending from the periphery of the mirror; a dentalextractor means for sucking out saliva accumulating in the mouth of apatient; said extractor means comprising a shallow bowl having in itswall at least one suction hole for ingress of saliva accumulating in themouth of a patient and including a handle extending from the bowl, saidhandle having therethrough a lengthwise bore communicating with thespace within the bowl and a lengthwise groove in the outside surface ofthe handle; the peripheral outlines of the mirror and the rim of thebowl being so correlated that the mirror is fittable with a pressure fitinto the bowl along the rim thereof for releasably attaching the mirrorto the bowl thereby covering the open side of the bowl and the groove inthe bowl handle being so correlated that the stem is fittable into saidgroove in the handle simultaneously with pressure fitting of the mirrorinto the bowl for locking the stem in the groove by sliding a suctionhose upon said handle.
 2. The dental instrument according to claim 1wherein a rim portion of the extractor bowl defines a peripherallyelongate gap between said rim portion and the juxtaposed peripheralportion of the mirror, said opening providing for ingress of solidparticles into the bowl space for sucking out said particles togetherwith saliva.
 3. The dental instrument according to claim 1 wherein themirror and the bowl rim each have a circular periphery, the diameter ofthe mirror being in excess of the minimum diameter at the rim of thebowl.
 4. The dental instrument according to claim 3 wherein the wall ofthe bowl includes a circumferential groove for retaining therein the rimof the mirror when press-fitted upon the bowl.